Strength traininig

I enjoy exercise. Moving and sweating and pushing myself. But that doesn’t mean I want to spend hours and hours on my workout. I’m busy just like everyone else so I need to create efficient exercise routines.

I’m not a bodybuilder or figure competitor so I have no need for dozens of exercises that hit every individual muscle. There’s nothing wrong with that type of training (I’ve used it at other times in my life) its just not what I need right now.

If you’re like me and need an effective and efficient workout too, follow these principles…

1. Compound Movements

Compound movements are exercises that involve multiple muscle groups. Working multiple muscles at once certainly saves time. These can all be done with or without added weight. Things like:

Squat Presses – after you squat down and return to a standing position, press the weight overhead.

Squat

Press

Row to Stiff-Leg Deadlift – bend over at your hips with weight hanging straight down. Pull weight up to chest. Return to start. Contract glutes and lower back to stand up straight.

Row

Deadlift

Walking Lunge with Alternating Shoulder Raise – step forward into a lunge position while lifting both arms to at least shoulder height. One arm at front and one arm to the side. On the next step alternate arm positions.

Lunge with Shoulder Raise

Kettlebell Swings – start with the kettlebell between your legs in a slight squat. Contract glutes and hamstrings to thrust the weight forward and lift to about shoulder height.

Kettlebell Swings

I could go on and on but you get the idea.

2. Circuits

Circuits are a great way to get a quick workout in when your schedule is busy. Alternate upper and lower body movements and move from one exercise to the next without stopping. For example, squats, pushups, lunges, bent over row, etc.

3. Intensity Level

Adding more weight to your current routine (within reason!) can increase your intensity just enough to give your program a little boost. If you’ve been just going through the motions or doing a set number of reps without considering how challenged your muscles are, then maybe its time to increase the weight to make your workout more efficient and effective.

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Need an effective, quick workout that only requires one simple piece of equipment? A full-body kettlebell workout to the rescue!

Kettlebells have been used for hundreds of years but they seem to be the trend right now. And for good reason. Kettlebells are compact and sturdy. They don’t take up a lot of storage space and they don’t break easily. They come in a variety of weights and you can do lots of exercises with just this one piece of equipment. Kettlebells are a great addition, or a great start, to a home gym. You can buy them at most local sporting goods stores or online.

If you have a kettlebell or plan to buy one, here’s a workout to get you started.

Overhead press

Squat

Start with feet wide and toes pointed out slightly. Hold the kettlebell close and squat down as far as comfortable keeping your toes in line with your knees. Press back to start.

Bent over row

Start with feet staggered and hand right hand on right knee for balance and support. Hold kettlebell straight down in left hand. Keeping core tight, drive elbow up to lift kettlebell. Repeat on other side

Swings

Start with feet wide, core tight and back straight. Hold kettlebell between your legs and back behind your hips. With a controlled motion, swing bell by contracting your glutes and pressing your hips forward. Use muscle not momentum!

Upright row

Start with feet shoulder width apart and bell down in front of you. Keep core tight and back flat. Lift the bell straight up in front of you leading with your elbows. Pause and return to start.

And, no, I don’t mean making a dent in your couch cushions. Your gluteus muscles help with just about every movement you make. Walking, running, climbing stairs, lifting everything from a bag of groceries to a 35 pound weight plate..all of these movements go through your hips and glutes in one way or another. Your glutes are part of your core and need to be active and strong just like your abs and low back.

Many people only use their glutes for one thing…sitting on them. You might think “But I exercise every day.” But if you exercise for 30-60 minutes and then sit at a desk the rest of the day, you probably still have lazy glutes. And if your glutes are inactive, they are less able to handle strenuous exercise and unable to properly distribute motion throughout your core.

Lazy glutes can lead to low back and hip pain and I don’t think I need to explain why that’s bad!

Glute activation exercises along with strength building exercises and some foam rolling will get those sleepy muscles firing.

Donkey kicks and clamshells will ‘wake up’ the glute muscles before a strength workout. Do these as part of your warm-up.

Donkey kick start

Donkey kick finish

Start on all fours with your core tight. Lift one leg keeping your knee bent. Squeeze your glutes to lift your heel towards the ceiling. Focus on using your glutes for the movement and not your lower back.

Clamshell start

Clamshell finish

Lie on your side with knees bent and legs stacked on top of each other. Squeeze your glutes and lift your top leg, keeping your heels touching. Your knees should open and close like a clamshell!

The two best exercises for building glute strength are sumo squats and hip thrusts.

Sumo squats will isolate and engage the glutes more than regular squats.

Sumo Squat Start

Sumo Squat Finish

Begin in a wide stance with toes pointed out at a 45 degree angle, core tight and arms in front of you for balance. Squat down with your knees following the same angle as your toes. Press back up through your heels, squeezing your glutes on the way up. You can hold dumbbells for added weight.

Hip thrusts target the glutes to build strength and power by maximizing hip extension.

Hip thrust start

Hip thrust finish

Begin by leaning on an exercise ball or bench with feet planted about hip width apart. Squeeze your glutes to lift your hips to parallel, pause and return to start. You can hold a dumbbell or barbell across your hips for added weight.

It must be! Otherwise, all those people plodding along on the treadmills at the gym would be in great shape. Like a beautiful, sparkly unicorn, we want to believe that it exists but the concept of the fat burning zone has been regularly misinterpreted and misunderstood.

The fat burning zone theory is that lower intensity exercise, at about 55% – 70% of maximum heart rate, burns more fat. Basically, your body burns more fat at a lower intensity of aerobic exercise than it does at a higher intensity. This sounds good in theory. After all why work harder if you don’t have to, right?

The misinterpretation of this theory happens because there is a difference between percentage of fat burned vs. actual fat burned. In reality, you burn a higher percentage of fat at lower intensities but generally more fat overall at higher intensities. Your body draws energy from two sources, fat and glycogen or stored carbohydrates. The percentages of these two fuel sources vary depending on the intensity of your exercise.

At a lower intensity, you may burn 60% of total calories from fat. And at a higher intensity only 45% of total calories from fat. On the surface, that seems like lower intensity would be better. But at a higher intensity you burn more calories OVERALL which bumps your actual fat calories up even though the percentage is lower.

For example:

The numbers above are just for example purposes but hopefully, you get the point. Percentage vs. actual are very different. Lower intensity exercise has its place in a workout program but if you’re relying on it to help you burn fat, it’s not the best idea. Circuit or interval workouts are efficient and help you burn more calories in less time.

Stop searching for the mythical creature! To truly burn maximum fat, focus on building muscle with a comprehensive strength training program and healthy eating habits. These will do far more to help you reach your goals then chasing the unicorn at the end of the treadmill!

I’m on vacation and yes, I have a workout plan. I know what you’re thinking, only crazy people workout on their vacation.

I’m not diligent about getting my workout in on vacation but if I’m away from exercise too long I start to not feel good and I get cranky. It’s better for everyone around me if I get some physical activity!

That being said, I fit it in when I can and don’t worry when I can’t. I don’t take away from family time and I don’t skip other activities that I want to do just to workout. My vacation is two weeks long and I maybe work out 4-5 times at most.

If you choose to exercise on vacation don’t expect to make gains or lose weight. You may even lose a little strength and endurance but that’s ok…It’s a vacation after all, enjoy it!

A run, a long walk or even a stretching session can be good exercise and still keep you relaxed. Especially if you can do it early in the day before everyone else is up.

The following are 3 different workout plan options you can do anywhere. A hotel room, condo balcony, poolside or even on the beach. Do one of them, two of them or all 3 if you’re feeling really ambitious. Sorry if the pictures are a bit blurry or goofy… teenage photographer!!

Workout 1 – do each exercise for 1 minute with 30 seconds rest between and do the whole circuit twice.

Skaters – jump sideways from foot to foot

Standing side crunches

Pike shoulder presses – in a downward dog position, bend elbows to lower and then push back up

Sumo squats

V-sit leg flutters

Workout 2 – Do the whole circuit twice

Walking lunges x 20 reps

Push-ups 10-20 reps

Plank 30 seconds

Squat with kickback x 20 reps – squat down and upon returning to start, press your leg back at your hip. Alternate legs.

Tricep dips 10-20 reps – these can be done on the ground if necessary but a bench or a chair makes them a little more productive.

Workout 3 – do each exercise for 1 minute with 30 seconds rest between and do the whole circuit three times.

Jumping jacks

Side leg lifts

Jog in place

Heel touch crunches – in a crunch position, squeeze from side to side touching your heels with the tips of your fingers.

Strengthening your core is important for just about everything you do. Most movements, whether they’re fitness activities or just every day life, originate from your core. Your core muscles work to stabilize your body and help produce power for movements of your limbs.

Your core involves all the muscles of your trunk not just your abs and low back like most people think. Doing a few sets of sit ups and bird – dogs is not going to cut it if you truly want to strengthen your core.

Your core is basically everything but your arms and legs. It includes your glutes, hips, abs, low back, upper back and chest. Your upper back and chest are less involved in certain core movements but are still connected to the whole core chain.

Here are some great core exercises that can be done with minimal or no equipment. And not one sit up in the bunch!

Planks (the exercise you love to hate!)

Planks

Side planks (a slightly more challenging variation)

Side Planks

Plank with leg lift (alternate leg lifts for up to 10 reps each)

Plank with leg lift

Seated leg lifts (I’m horribly inflexible so this is a tough one for me because my hamstrings are so tight!)

High Intensity Workouts are a Good Addition to an Overall Fitness Plan

There’s no denying the popularity of high intensity interval or boot camp style workouts that promise to torch fat, kick your butt and get you in great shape. You can find local classes, gyms or even online videos everywhere. These workouts can be as quick as 7-10 minutes or as long as a 1-hour class and if done right, will leave you feeling like you want to sprawl on the floor and not move the rest of the day. The idea that you can get in killer shape quickly is appealing to so many people. How could it not be, right?! The intensity of the workouts makes for great Instagram and Facebook posts too! But is working at such a high intensity all the time, even for 10 minutes, a good idea?

Steady state cardio seems to have fallen out of favor in recent years. After all, why do something that takes longer and isn’t as effective as a HIIT workout? But high intensity training is tough on your body and often recovery takes longer than most people allow for themselves. My 44-year-old body does not recovery from that kind of workout in just a day! And a number of my clients have the same recovery challenges.

If you’re trying to lose fat, often you’re restricting your calories in general and sometimes your carbs. This could make it difficult to get through a very intense workout. You need those carbs! If you’re trying to improve speed or sports performance then high intensity workouts are important. If your primary goal is fat loss then strength training and diet should be your new best friends. High intensity workouts are fine as part of an overall fitness plan but not ALL THE TIME!

As with so many other things, the old saying “Everything in moderation” applies here too. Definitely include high intensity workouts in your fitness plan but don’t make them the whole plan.

Here’s a 9-minute interval workout you can do at home… But only once or twice a week!

Do each exercise for 30 seconds moving immediately from one to the next.